Chapter One

Voices woke me. "Hwaet we Gar-Dena in gear-dagum peod-cyninga prym gefrunon. Hu da aepelingas ellen fremedon. What of the Spear-Danes in days gone by? Ancient kings winning glory with their deeds, courageous warriors heroic in battle?"

As these words faded, an image rose before me like a great ship's sail, towering so high it seemed to cover the sky. I blinked at its brightness, golden in the morning sunlight.

When I blinked again it was gone. Eager to find it, I lifted my wings and flew into the night, but the vision had escaped into darkness.

Shaking myself, I slid from the warmth of my fur-lined bed, set my bare feet on the cold, wood floor, and looked around sleepily. Mother's bench was empty; so was Willa's. Pulling a robe from my bed, I ran to the door and used all my strength to lift the heavy bar and squeeze outside. At first, I shivered in the cold, but soon I was skipping over icy patches, joyful at heart to be out of doors, glad to take in the first smells of earth coming back to life after long months of darkness.

Voices, different voices now, drifted down to me, blown on a gust of wind that made me pull the fur robe closer around my shift. Scanning the horizon, I saw two figures against the sky: one tall and regal, the other short and broad. Their backs were turned to me, and they seemed to be deep in talk. Father and Aeschere. They could tell me.

Breathlessly I climbed the hill, soon dropping the heavy robe that dragged behind me.

"Father, Father, where is it? Did you see it? Did you hear the singing?"

The sh